I might be late to the party on this one, since the video was published on YouTube over a month ago. However, I just heard this cover of The Cranberries’ classic on the radio, and felt compelled to share it. Watching Bad Wolves’ powerful video only heightened this need.

The cover itself is good. It may not be a mind-blowing re-imagining of what this song could be (something achieved by Disturbed in their cover of “The Sound of Silence”), but Bad Wolves have taken a song that was poignant in its day, maintained that inherent poignancy, and added to it by making it a full-on tribute to O’Riordan.

The power in Vext’s vocals are similar to O’Riordan’s in that they convey a sense of hopelessness. I can only imagine the ethereal quality O’Riordan could have brought to this cover with her voice echoing behind the power chords.

Even without her vocal presence, Bad Wolves managed to echo O’Riordan in the music video.

In this version, a woman reprises O’Riordan’s iconic all-gold costume from the original music video. The sight of this figure approaching lead singer Tommy Vext through the glass wall is chilling. As the woman smears gold all over the glass, she becomes obscured from Vext’s view (and the rest of the band) until she disappears altogether.

I’ve never listened to Bad Wolves before, and I’ll be sure to check them out. I’m not certain I will enjoy the rest of their music, but I appreciate what they’ve done to honor O’Riordan’s memory.

Steve D